Visual approach: Summer solstice

September 1, 2013

ByDave Hirschman

It’s a week before the summer solstice, and even though it’s 9 p.m., the sun at this far northern latitude is well above the mountains ringing Alaska’s stunning Glacier Bay. Jill “Ivy” McIver, Cirrus sales rep for the Northwest, is in the left seat of this SR22T-G5 as we follow a winding and indescribably scenic route through a landscape of immense scale. Humpback whales feed in the bay’s deep blue water, and normally solitary eagles flock above them in groups of 50 or more. This portion of southeast Alaska is a rain forest that’s frequently shrouded in fog and low clouds—but on this June evening the vast and dramatic chains of mountains, glaciers, and coastline seems endless.